A primary care physician from Canada made Covington the latest stop on her journey.
Originally from Toronto, Dr. Parisa Biazar moved to the Atlanta area in the summer of 2024 to continue her medical practice. She had previously studied at the American University of the Caribbean in St. Maarten for four years and also conducted research on exercise, family medicine and chronic disease at the Mayo Clinic in Florida and in Barbados. In addition, Biazar lived in New York for one year of medical training and worked at the Grand Strand Medical Center in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, for her residency for three years. She began the next chapter of her medical career at Piedmont Primary Care at Eastside Crossing in Covington in September 2024.
“Since I’m from Canada, I’m on a Visa, so we have to go to an area that doesn’t have enough doctors,” Biazar said while discussing her decision to land in Newton County. “Since Covington is growing so much, they need more doctors.”
Biazar, who lives near Atlanta with her husband, Zack, and their dog, has grown accustomed to moving around to various areas and climates. For a couple of years in high school, she even lived in Barbados, where her uncles were doctors.
"As long as I can remember, I wanted to be a doctor." — Dr. Parisa Biazar
“As long as I can remember, I wanted to be a doctor. There wasn’t a certain event that happened for me,” Biazar said. “I’ve been a bookworm, and I love school. The sciences were the most interesting to me, so I naturally gravitated toward it, and I wanted to help people, as well.”
Growing up, Biazar participated in volunteer work in hospitals and with HIV organizations. She revealed she had a desire to practice primary care before she went into medical school.
“I like being the person that patients feel like they can come to,” said Biazar, who won a leadership award during her residency and even earned the spot of chief resident. “Even if they go to a specialist, they come back. Seeing the parents and sometimes their kids and taking care of the whole family is nice.”
Rhonda Whiten, who has spent more than 20 years as physicians operations coordinator with the practice, considers Biazar a wonderful asset to the team.
“Her caring and empathy to patients is amazing,” Whiten said. “She has a great rapport with staff and patients. We’ve got nothing but great feedback from everyone.”
Piedmont Primary Care currently boasts seven doctors and four nurse practitioners. Medical assistant Ebony Dean has been with the practice for roughly a decade and understands why many patients embrace Biazar’s youth, as it means they are more likely to keep her as a doctor for longer.
“She’s easy to get along with,” Dean said. “She focuses on them taking their medicines, and she will try to do what she can for them.”
Biazar revealed that most of her patients are new to the growing practice.
“Everyone has been great,” she said. “They are motivated to get better, which I love to see. I love the receptiveness to find help.”
Currently, Biazar sees 16 to 18 patients per day and continues to accept new clients, like many of the other doctors in the practice at their facility on U.S. 278. She mostly deals with common concerns like diabetes, high cholesterol, COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and menopause. While Biazar practices as a family medicine doctor, she focuses on women’s health and getting patients healthy. She also sees patients who need assistance with mental health.
“My goal with my patients is to provide quality care. I’m passionate about preventive care and obtaining my patients’ health goals,” Biazar said. “I want my patients to be able to feel like they’re being taken care of, and I take the approach to try to hone in not only on medicine and lifestyle changes first but also their way of eating and activity levels to prevent chronic conditions.”
Biazar offers referrals for those who require care from a specialist.
“I’m so eager that if there is something [extra needed], we’re still willing to dive deep in research and find more,” she said. “It’s about just trying to have that discussion. If it needs medicines, it’s there, but they also may need to try to change their way of living to help in the long run, as well.”
Biazar concedes that social media sometimes influences patients’ questions and worries, but she continues to listen to their concerns.
“We require more discussion with patients to see if the sources they’re using are relevant or if part of it’s true. It’s just more discussion,” she said. “I appreciate when my patients take interest in their own health because I can only do so much. I want them to know what they’re being treated for, and we take time together so it’s more of a discussion [and] not a quick fix.”
